Convertible suction cleaner



Oct. 25, 1932. l 1 R JR 1,884,871

CONVERTIBLE SUCTI'IJN CLEANER Filed July 9. 1931 2 Sheats-Shet -1 Oct. 25, 1932. F. RIEBEL, JR

CONVERTIBLE SUCTION CLEANER Filed July 9. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jazz "(b4 ff, e16

, X. My

Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE FREDERICK RIEBEL, JR, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO AIR-WAY ELECTRIC APPLI- ANGIE CORPORATION, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE convnnrmm SUCTION 0mm Application filed July 9,

This invention relates to suction cleaners and has as its primary object to provide a suction cleaning apparatus which is ,convertible from a conventional type domestic suction cleaner to a portable cleaner.

In using the words domestic type cleaner I have reference to the ordinary suction cleaner adapted to travel upon a floor provided with travelling wheels for this purpose and provided also with a handle by means of which the machine may be operated by a person in an upright position. Portable cleaners are well known, and the term portable is commonly used to refer to any cleaner which is suspended from the operator during the cleaning operation. Such a cleaner ordinarily does not have travel wheels, and comprises only a filtering bag, a motor and fan assembly, a cleaning tool and its connection to the suction producing device, and some sort of supporting means by means of which the cleaner may be suspended from some. portion of the body of an operator. This type of vacuum cleaner is used commonly or cleaning the upholstery of automobiles and the like, and it has become quite common for a housewife to purchase not only a conventional domestic cleaner but also a portable cleaner, the one to be used for cleaning the house and the other for cleaning the family vehicle.

The present invention proposes to very considerably reduce the expense to the. average family of providing cleaning equipment both for the house and for the automobile, by providing a set of apparatus which the housewife can convert into either a floor or hand type cleaner.

The invention further has as its object to improve some of the faults of the ordi- "nary portable cleaner. For instance, I propose to provide a portable cleaner which has the same capacity, the same ruggedness and durability, and the same strength of suction as a full sized domesticcleaner. This has not been true in the past of portable cleaners. Most of them mcorporate only small sized replicas of the suction producing apparatus found in a domestic cleaner, and are unit which is common bot Serial F0. 549,827.

otherwisecorrespondingly cheaper and lighter in construction.

Another objection to the ordinary portable cleaner 1s its lack of balance. The weight of the filtering bag tips the ordinary cleaner to one side so that it is rather unwieldly to handle. My invention'aims to remedy this condition by providing a portable cleaner in which the. filtering bag is positioned on one side of the suction producing device and the floor tool which forms part of the domestic cleaner,,is positioned on the opposite side of the suction producing device, an auxiliary handle being provided, positioned intermediate the bag and the floor tool, whereby the bag and floor tool tend to balance each other in substantially horizon-- tally opposed positions when the cleaner is suspended from said auxiliary handle. This '7 arrangement is particularly advantageous in thatthe bag is thus supported in an elevated position and does not tend to him low and drag against surfaces or parts eing cleaned.

One problem encountered 'in connection with providing a ortable cleaner is that of cleaning activities, and must be attached securely to the handle and switch assembly of the domestic cleaner in order that it may not be accidentallydetached during cleaning operations.

The present invention makes it possible to I detach the domestic handle and switch assembly from the body of the cleaner, and to thereby constitute the bod of the cleaner a to the domestic cleaner and the portable cleaner. The term body is used here to indicate the motor and suction device assembl the floor tool, and the travel wheels. ThlS is accomplished by conventional plug and socket connection, one

element of this plug and socket connection, namely, the one which is attached to the short motor cord, then serving as a means for attaching the portable cleaner to a garage extension cord or the like.

Vith these and other objects in View my invention consists in the combination construction and arrangement of the various parts thereof, whereby the objects contem plated are attained, as more fully set forth in the accompanying specifications, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a-perspective view of the portable cleaner, an operator thereof being indicated in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the fan case, and the associated auxiliary handle, parts being shown in section to better illustrate the construction.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4- is an inverted plan View ofthe handle.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus when converted into a domestic cleaner.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the cleaner body with a somewhat modified form of auxiliary handle attached thereto.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the said modified form of auxiliary handle.

Referring first to Fig. 6, ll provide a cleaner body, including a motor 10; a fan casing 11, including a suction chamber 12, suction inlet sockets 13 and 14 respectively, and the outlet socket 15; and the floor tool 16 mounted on a tubular neck 17 secured in the socket 13. Numeral l2A indicates a known form of valve rotatably mounted within the chamber 12 and serves toconnect alternatively either the socket 14 or the socket 13 to the fan which operates within the fan case 11. The floor tool and motor are provided with travel wheels 16A.

Turning now to Fig. 5, the socket 1d receivcs a hollowtubular handle 18, which is clamped in place by means of the clam screw 19 cooperating with the cars 20 de ning a slot 21 in the socket 14 to draw the split halves of the socket into clamping engagement with the lower end of the tube.

Supported on handle 18 is the switch assembly 21 which incorporates a combined switch element and plug FKfkfil) (not shown) to which may be attached the plug 22 of the motor cord 23. The latter extends into the motor housing at ildieing thus permanent- 1y attached to the motor.

The extension cord 25 of the domestic cleaner is permanently attached to the switch,

aeaaava being supported by a coil spring cage 26 forming part of the switch assembly.

The extension cord 25 forms an inseparable part of the handle assembly, and it will now be seen that in removing the handle 18 from the cleaner body, that the extension, cord would be removed along with it while the motor cord 23 remains attached to the motor, the point of separation being between the plug 22 and the socket incorporated in the switch assembly-21.

The filter bag 27 for the don'iestic assembly isof a known construction and is attached and supported by brackets 28, specifically forming no part of the present invention although it would be understood that the present invention contemplates some means for attaching and supporting" the bag. A conventional detachable connection 25) connects the bag to the discharge or outlet socket 15.

It will now be seen that in converting the cleaner just described into a portable type, the handle and bag can quickly be removed by loosening the screw 19, pulling the handle from the socket 14:, and detaching the bag connections.

At this point it may be explained that one object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the housewife may quickly transform one type of cleaner into the other type with a minimum of diiliculty. Removal of the handle and bag of the domestic cleaner is seen to be a simple operation, 7

and the attachment of the parts which provide the portable cleaner is equally simple.

These parts are comprised in a flexible tube 30, attached by means of a nipple 31 tothe socket 14:,a cleaning tool of the same type such as the tool 31'A illustrated in Fig. l, attachable to the other end of tube 30, and a short length bag 32 which is self supporting when attached by means of its, neck 33 to the connection 29 of the socket 15, the stiffness of thefabric, together with that of the paper dust receptacle or liner (not shown), contained therein, being ample for such support, particularly when the bag is inflated.

The particular construction of the bag 32 forming a separate invention over the present one, is not illustrated in detail herein.

The auxiliary handle shown in hi 4 comprises a crescent shaped handle in mixer 34; provided at one end with a teat -3 and at its other end with a fork or yoke 53; adapted to embrace the socket 13. In on:- arm of the yoke 36 is secured a pin 37 wniic the other end or the arm is formed with an internally threaded boss 38 through which is threaded a set screw 39..

Turning now to Figs. 2 and 3 the socket 14 is provided with an opening 4-0 in which is received the teat 35 while the socket 13 is provided with a pair of opposed openings 41 in one of which is received the pin 37 and in handle, the teat 35 is first opening 40, the set screw 39 is backed ofi' to allow the socket 13 to be seated between it and the pin 37, the two are brought into registry with the openings 41, and the set screw is then threaded inwardly to secure the socket 13 between the arms of the yoke 36.

An alternative form of the auxiliary handle is that shown in Fig. 7, wherein the handle portion 3&-A is made of leather and provided at its ends with a pair of flat ears 42, each having a pair of slots 43 through which a strap 44, (or 4:5, as the case may be) is buckled. The buckles are shown at 46. The strap t4 encircles the sockets 14 and 15 and the strap 45, which is smaller in diameter, encircles the socket13, all as shown in Fig. 6. In using the portable device the plug 22 may be inserted into an ordinary plug socket 47 on any suitable current carrying cable such as ordinary garage extension cord 48.

Returning again to the domestic cleaner set-up it will be noted that the detachable connection of the motor cord 23 is made at a point where there is no danger of the cord plug being pulled out of its socket accidentally. The cord is normally positioned'below the handle 18 closely adjacent to the bag 27, and is protected against becoming caught on obstacles. At the same time, a connection is provided by means of which the motor cord can be instantly detached from the handle assembly and a connection left for attachment to the garage extension cord.

Attention is now called to the fact that only I the bag and handle are detached from the body portion of the cleaner in making the conversion. This simplifies the transformation to such an extent as to make it practical for the ordinary housewife to make the conversion herself.

The floor tool '16 is allowed to remain attached, and serves a useful function in connection with the portable cleaner, namely, acting as a counterbalance for the bag 32 and allowing the cleaner to balance in a natural position wherein the bag extends substantially in a horizontal, direction while the motor 10 hangs substantially in a vertical position. The motor 10 also acts as a counterweight to offset any irregularities between the weightof the bag 32 and that of the. floor tool, bringing the center of gravity below the plane of the floor tool and the upper edge of the bag. Some of the advantages just stated arise from the peculiar arrangement of floor tool, motor and bag connection, whereby thefioor tool, motor and bag are positioned in the relation described.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts in my invention without departing from the true spirit thereof and it is my purpose to cover by my claims any modified ,forms of construction or the use of mechanical equivalents which may reasonably beincluded within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a suction cleaner, a body unit comprising a motor, a fan casing having an outlet, a floor tool connected to the tan casing, floor wheels on the floor tool and motor respectively, supporting the unit with the motor axis downwardly and rearwardly inclined, a handle demountably attached to the fan casing and projecting upwardly and rearwardly, a dust collecting bag connected to the fan casing outlet and supported beneath the handle with its upper edge slightly spaced therefrom, a switch assembly on the handle, including one element of a separable electrical connection, and a relatively short motor cord attached to the motor at one end and at its other end provided with the matching element of said separable connection, said motor cord lying in the space between the handle and the upper edge of the bag.

2. In a suction cleaner, a body unit comprising a motor and a fan casing having an outlet attachable to a filtering bag, a handle demountably attached to said body unit, one element of a separable electrical connector carried by said handle, and a short motor cord attached at one end to the motor and provided at its other end with the mating element of said connector.

3. In asuction cleaner, a body unit com- )rising a motor and a fan casing having an outlet attachable to a filtering bag, a handle demountably attached to said body unit, one element of a separable electrical connector carried by said handle, and a motor cord attached atone end to the motorand provided at its other end with the mating element of said connector, said cord having a length not substantially greater than the distance from the motor to the connector element on the handle.

4. In a suction cleaner, a body unit-comprising a motor and a fan casing having an outlet attachable to a filtering bag, a handle demountably attached to said body unit, a switch assembly mounted on said handle, said assembly including one element of a separ cord attached at one end to the motor and provided at its other end with the mating element of said connector.

FREDERICK RIEBEL, JR. 

